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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28730394">I hope you catch me 'cause I'm already falling</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neuqe/pseuds/Neuqe'>Neuqe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, They are so in love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:20:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,578</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28730394</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neuqe/pseuds/Neuqe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Carlos wakes up and finds TK sleeping on his couch</p>
<p>“It’s definitely not a breaking-and-entering situation if you have a key, that’s just opening the door,” Carlos comments as he presses a kiss against his temple. TK cannot see his face, but he can hear from his voice that he is smiling."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Carlos Reyes/TK Strand</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>333</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I hope you catch me 'cause I'm already falling</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>TK wakes up when he feels a hand on his shoulder. Bright rays of sunshine hit his face and he blinks his eyes slowly, only to find Carlos looking at him. It takes a short moment for him to realise that he is in Carlos’ apartment, in his living room, lying on the black leather couch. His cheek is pressed against the leather and it feels sticky underneath his face.</p>
<p>Carlos crouches down next to couch. He looks like he is only recently woken up and he is still wearing his pyjamas, which consists of a pair of black boxers and a grey Austin fire department t-shirt that he has stolen from him. </p>
<p>Seeing him wear his clothes always make his stomach twist in a good way.</p>
<p>Carlos moves his hand to cup his cheek instead. His brown eyes are gleaming with happiness, which lately has become a common occurrence for TK to witness, but this time his eyebrows are little furrowed.</p>
<p>“Hey, are you okay?”</p>
<p>His voice is soft and full of concern. It’s a fair question, he supposes. After all, he has been sleeping on his couch without even telling him that he came over during the night.</p>
<p>TK sits up and drags his hand along his own face and groans. “Yeah, sorry.”</p>
<p>He realises that he is still wearing his running clothes, a bright red hoodie and a pair of soft tights. Definitely not the best clothes to sleep in and his back feels stiff after sleeping on the hard and uncomfortable couch.</p>
<p>“You sure?” He asks, without moving from the floor.</p>
<p>“Yeah, definitely,” he reassures with a nod, trying to bite down any embarrassment that is starting to form in his stomach.</p>
<p>He appreciates that his first question is not to demand why he is there. Lately, he has spent more and more nights at Carlos’ place, and it is no longer strange, and he doesn’t feel out of place in his apartment anymore, but usually, Carlos has been aware that he has spent the night in his home.</p>
<p>He likes the place, and he definitely more than likes him, and they have been doing good. More than good, actually, in his opinion. All of it is still bit new, it has been only two months since the night of the solar flares when they decided to give it a shot, and he is still convinced that they made the right choice.</p>
<p>He has been incredibly happy, and some of his happiest memories of Austin are from this apartment, but now, he feels just a bit awkward under his gaze. Carlos shrugs slightly and gets back on his feet, but he quickly decides to sit next to him.</p>
<p>“How long have you been here?” He asks next, gently pushing strand of his hair away from his forehead. He guesses his hair must be sticking to a hundred different directions after a run and a night of tossing and turning on the couch.</p>
<p>“Most of the night,” he replies, but a smile is tugging on the corner of his mouth because his hair might be a mess, but Carlos’ bed hair is a sight to behold. It doesn’t stick to different directions, but it is curly and fluffy, and the way that sunbeams keep hitting on it, makes it look lighter than usually.</p>
<p>It’s endearing.</p>
<p>“I went for a run after I got off from a shift,” he adds. “I felt restless.”</p>
<p>His recovery process from the wound had been excruciatingly slow and included embarrassingly long sick leave and he has only recently returned to the normal length shifts, and during quiet ones, he feels restless.</p>
<p>He is certain he wants to be a firefighter, but he feels a little anxious still. His mind wanders and he cannot help but wonder what he has done to deserve to be as lucky as he is. He has a family and a place he is happy to call his home, and he has Carlos.</p>
<p>It all feels sometimes too good to be true, and it’s a bit ridiculous and irrational, but sometimes his mind wanders, and he cannot help but fear when his happiness will be taken away from him. He loathes that he keeps thinking that way, and he tries his best to prevent the thoughts from creeping up on him. Restlessness itself is not such a terrible thing, but it reminds him too much of the days when he wanted to use.</p>
<p>He feels good now, and he isn’t tempted to take anything, but still, he dislikes the feeling of restlessness in his limbs.</p>
<p>Instead of wallowing on his thoughts, he tries to keep himself occupied or his mind empty. Running helps, and so does work, because he doesn’t have to think about anything else except the task at hand.</p>
<p>“I ran here, accidently,” he admits, looking at his own hands.</p>
<p>“Accidently?” Carlos echoes, amusement clearly colouring his voice.</p>
<p>“Maybe not so accidently,” he caves in, as he tries to bite down a smile and nudges his shoulder with his own. “More like a subconscious decision.”</p>
<p>He had not thought about anything while running, all he knew was that he needed to move, and he had enjoyed the cold wind against his face, the burning feeling in his thighs and the quietness of the city around him as he ran. He had only realised that he was in front of Carlos’ house when he had stopped to catch his breath.</p>
<p>When his mind gets caught in a whirlwind, he wants to see Carlos. Merely his presence usually helps him to ground himself and he makes rest of the buzzing world a little quieter. He is able to do it, just with a glance or a smile, even when he doesn’t know what is bothering him.</p>
<p>In the beginning, Carlos was a distraction from the clusterfuck that was his life. Attractive distraction, at that, but now, he has become so much more important than that, but he still knows that he is always able to distract and steer his mind away from the unpleasant thoughts, or at least, help him to deal with them. It feels more meaningful now that he knows that his every action is fuelled by fondness and affection. Maybe even love.</p>
<p>“Obviously, I had the key,” he adds, and reaches into his hoodie’s pocket where his keys uncomfortably jab him in the stomach. “I didn’t break in.” He pulls them away from the pocket and places them on the coffee table. It is a simple metallic chain that holds the keys for his dad’s place and Carlos’ place, his two homes entangled.</p>
<p>He had given him the key a few weeks ago. They are still taking things slow, they are basically taking the world’s smallest and slowest baby steps, but they keep moving forward, and TK guesses that it is the only thing that matters, and Carlos hasn’t complained either.</p>
<p>The key had not been any sort of invitation to move in, it was more out of convenience. Their schedules usually are hectic, and their shifts overlap. Sometimes Carlos works 12 hours of the day, and TK’s shift lasts the remaining 12 hours of the day.</p>
<p>It’s not always compatible, but they try to make it work. Try to find time to see each other whenever they can, even when sometimes it only means sleeping together on the same bed, sharing lunch or quick kiss when the other one arrives or leaves. He still loves every moment.</p>
<p>Carlos had argued that it’s simply easier if he has a key, too. He supposes it is the truth. He has once or twice waited over half an hour for him to arrive home. TK also has the chronic tendency to forget his stuff all over the place, and it is a lot easier if he can pick up his forgotten phone charger by himself rather than ask Carlos to bring it.</p>
<p>So, yeah, all in all, it is a convenience thing. Yet, that run was the first time he ever used the key.</p>
<p>Carlos had been clear when giving the key that he was not trying to rush things or pressure him into anything he didn’t feel ready for, and TK appreciated that more than he could say and he could understand the easiness of having his own key to his place, but it still was, and is, a big deal for him.</p>
<p>It means that he trusts him enough to give him a key to his home, a private place that he cherishes. His safe haven, and he is ready to open all of that to him, too, and he would be lying if he said that it wouldn’t make him feel special and loved for.</p>
<p>But it also comes with certain heaviness of commitment, and it makes their whole relationship feel more tangible somehow, and the idea of all of that doesn’t scare him in a way that he would have expected. Rather, it is comforting, almost. It helps him to convince his own mind that maybe Carlos isn’t going to realise one of these days what a mess of a human being he has managed to find and run for the hills.</p>
<p>Carlos stares at his keys with an expression he cannot quite read, but suddenly his face softens, and he places his hand on his knee. He traces small circles against his kneecap with his thumb.</p>
<p>“It’s definitely not a breaking-and-entering situation if you have a key, that’s just opening the door,” Carlos comments as he presses a kiss against his temple. TK cannot see his face, but he can hear from his voice that he is smiling.</p>
<p>He looks down on his lap, and his gaze keeps coming back to Carlos’s long fingers against his knee. He slides his own hand on top of his and gently intertwines their fingers. “Is that your professional opinion?” He asks, bright grin on his face now.</p>
<p>“Mhm, it’s my opinion as a cop and as a someone who gave you the key,” he says, softly.</p>
<p>TK rolls his eyes fondly. “I only remembered when I had opened the door that you pulled a double shift, and you were already asleep. I didn’t want to bother you and just simply going away felt a bit too stalkerish.”</p>
<p>For his defence, he had been a little sleep deprived and he never makes good decisions when he is exhausted. His desire to see Carlos had felt a little too selfish to justify waking him up, but he had allowed himself the comfort of still being near him.</p>
<p>He studies him with his gaze. “You could have woken me up,” he replies, brushing the back of his palm with his thumb.</p>
<p>He knows it. It probably would have been the most sensible solution, but he didn’t want to bother his sleep.</p>
<p>TK had learned very early on in their relationship that falling asleep was easy for Carlos, but he also woke up very easily if he accidently kept making noises as he tossed and turned in the bed or moved around the apartment. </p>
<p>He knew that he couldn’t fall asleep easily, all of the restlessness still hadn’t left his body, and waking him up would only mean that neither one of them would have gotten enough sleep.</p>
<p>“I know, but it was fine,” he reassures. He grins warmly at him. “Besides, you were drooling and snoring, I didn’t have the heart to wake you up.”</p>
<p>He had made it to the bedroom door that had been left ajar. Carlos had been lying on his stomach, his limbs sprawled all over the bed and duvets, and hugging one of the pillows with one arm. He hadn’t woken up when he entered the bedroom, which he considered to be a small miracle. Either he had been too exhausted, or he has gotten used to the sounds he makes as he moves around in the condo.</p>
<p>“I don’t drool,” he argues, almost a little flatly.</p>
<p>“You do,” he replies, trying to bite down his smile as he places a quick kiss on his shoulder, “sometimes, when you’re really tired.”</p>
<p>Knowing such a small detail about him makes him ridiculously happy. It’s one of those things only he gets to witness, and truth to be told, it makes him feel sort of special.</p>
<p>He huffs, but glances at the couch. “You didn’t need to crash on the couch, it probably killed your back,” he insists.</p>
<p>His shoulders are a little stiff and he can feel a muscle knot in his lower back, but it is nothing he couldn’t live with. He has slept in worse places.</p>
<p>“I didn’t want to risk waking you up or giving you a heart attack by appearing next to you, unannounced, when you slept,” he says with a lazy half-smile.</p>
<p>His smile softens again, and he presses his lips together. “I’m not known for kicking you out of my bed, though.”</p>
<p>“Yeah.”</p>
<p>It feels sort of an understatement, and nowadays, at least for him, it feels weirder to sleep alone than it does with him. He has gotten used to the warmth that his body radiates next to him and all the sounds, the snoring and little of huffs of breath and incoherent mumbling, he sometimes makes in his sleep.</p>
<p>“Besides,” Carlos continues, “I wouldn’t have given you the key if I didn’t want you to come and go as you please.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” he exhales, flashing him a tiny smile.</p>
<p>He raises their intertwined hands a bit higher and kisses his knuckles. “So, no need to act like seeing your face as a first thing in the morning would be a terrible inconvenience,” he says, and he can feel his breath against his fingers. “Because it’s not.”</p>
<p>He bites the inside of his cheek and cocks his head, a little ashamed, and a little shaken up by the fact how well Carlos sometimes sees through him. His words make a wave of warmth spread in his chest. Sometimes, he fears that once the novelty wears off, their relationship will change, but he has gotten better at banishing that thought from his head. Still, the fear of it lingers in the background.</p>
<p>“Is it a good surprise then?”</p>
<p>“The best,” he agrees, before closing the distance between them. He quickly kisses him, and even though the kiss is short, he can feel the warmth of his lips against his own. “Stay?”</p>
<p>TK knows that Carlos has a day off, and his own shift won’t start until late afternoon. They didn’t have any particular plans, because he wanted to give him a chance to sleep in and just rest up, but now that he is already there, he is more than reluctant to leave.</p>
<p>“I guess I could,” he eventually agrees, and Carlos’ smile is beatific.</p>
<p>It feels good to be wanted. To know that Carlos genuinely wants him around and is delighted to spend time with him makes his heart soar, because he wants all of that too.</p>
<p>Carlos’ gaze drops to his thick hoodie and running pants. “I’ve spare clothes if you want to change,” he says as he stands up.</p>
<p>Due to spending most of his nights and free time at Carlos’ place and the chronic tendency to forget his things everywhere, he probably has enough of his own clothes tucked away in his drawers, too.</p>
<p>TK leans into the couch and a lazy grin spreads on his face. “All of this was a ploy to get me into your clothes?”</p>
<p>“Guilty as charged,” he deadpans with a shrug, but he disappears into the bedroom and tosses a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt at him. He thinks the sweatpants might be his own, but the black t-shirt with the soft fabric definitely isn’t his.</p>
<p>Carlos just grins at him. “Do you want breakfast?”</p>
<p>“Sure,” he replies, already pulling his hoodie over his head. He takes off rest of the clothes and changes into the clean ones that don’t reek like his sweat. He notices Carlos glancing at him from the kitchen a few times, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead he just dumps the hoodie and running pants into the laundry basket.</p>
<p>Carlos is chopping bell peppers when he returns to the kitchen. He looks focused as he prepares the breakfast on the kitchen island. TK walks up to him, wrapping his arms around his waist and hugs him from the behind.</p>
<p>He is a bit taller than him, so he can easily rest his chin against his shoulder. He stays quiet for a moment, just breathing in the smells of the kitchen and him.</p>
<p>Carlos places the knife against the chopping board and touches his forearm with his palm. “You know that if you ever need me, you can wake me up, right? No matter what kind of shift I have pulled before.”</p>
<p>“I know,” he says, without missing a beat as he burrows his face into his neck. “I’d have woken you up if it was something more serious than me feeling slightly restless and pathetic.”</p>
<p>He exhales softly. “I wouldn’t have minded if that was the reason.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” he murmurs. He places a kiss on the edge of his spine, and he feels him shiver under his touch. He didn’t think at any point that Carlos would have been upset with him if he woke him up. He just didn’t want to do it because he knows their sleeping rhythms are non-existent thanks to their job schedules and the attempts to match them, even on some level. “Can I help?”</p>
<p>“You could make coffee if you want?”</p>
<p>He reluctantly lets his hands slide away from his waist and he mock clutches his chest as he walks backwards towards the coffee maker. “No faith in my cooking skills? You wound me, Reyes,” he deadpans.</p>
<p>It is a common knowledge that he is a walking disaster in kitchen and most of his attempts to cook something have led to inedible food and Carlos has pointed out that for a firefighter, he is a little too comfortable with burning things. But he always wants to help because he feels so useless if he just stands and watches someone else do all the work.</p>
<p>“I have every faith in your coffee making abilities” he says, as he breaks a couple of eggs into a plastic bowl.</p>
<p>“With an automatic coffeemaker?” He remarks as he snaps the machine on. He leans against the counter and crosses his arms.</p>
<p>“Your words,” Carlos says, looking up from the bowl and flashes him a brilliant grin, “not mine.”</p>
<p>He rolls his eyes, a lot more fondly than he intends to. “Sometimes, I think I might hate you, just a little bit,” he jokes, in a soft voice.</p>
<p>Carlos walks up to him and crouches down to fish out a frying pan out of one of the cupboards. “I don’t think you do,” he says, still grinning, as he stands up with the pan on his hand.</p>
<p>“Maybe I don’t,” he agrees, lazily, as he tilts his head and smirks at him.</p>
<p>“Hmh, I knew it,” he declares, a little smugly.</p>
<p>TK cannot help but kiss him. He grabs a handful of his t-shirt in his fist and pulls him closer, even though he is already painfully close to him. He hears a thump as Carlos dumps the frying pan to the kitchen counter. He wraps his hands around his waist instead.</p>
<p>He tries to pour all of his love into the kiss, and it is a slow one. His hand wanders to his neck, to the base of his skull, and he feels a shiver going through his body. Carlos lets his fingers slide along his hipbones and TK laughs a little into the kiss.</p>
<p>“This felt like a good place to be,” he breathes out, as he rests his forehead against his.</p>
<p>Carlos looks perplexed for a second before he realises what he means. “I’m glad,” he says, softly, but his eyes look delighted.</p>
<p>They eat the breakfast together, and he ends up staying after that, too. They crash back on the couch and catch up with each other and end up watching a couple of episodes of tv shows they both have missed out, and TK can admit that the tv doesn’t get his undivided attention at all, and Carlos ends up cooking more food, and he is more than glad about his subconscious decision-making.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“What are you smilin’ about?” Marjan asks, amusedly, as she walks past him in the firehouse’ kitchen.</p>
<p>TK looks up from the plastic container he is holding in his hands and carefully peals away the yellow post-it note away from its lid. “Nothing,” he replies, but he cannot hide his smile. </p>
<p>She rolls her eyes and holds up her hands in a defensive manner. “Sure, be mysterious then,” she laughs, as she walks backwards away from the kitchen.</p>
<p>Carlos had cooked way too much food for lunch and he had packed some of the leftovers for him as a dinner, and the thought of it alone made his heart melt, but it is the small post-it note that he had clued to the container made him stop on his tracks.</p>
<p>
  <em>You’re always welcome here, no matter what</em>
</p>
<p>His uncanny ability to read his mind and say exactly what he needs to hear is almost baffling, but he is glad for it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>All the mistakes are mine and the title is borrowed from arms by christina perri. I hope you liked this even though this ended up being a little messy</p></blockquote></div></div>
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